Climate change and livelihood practices in Vanuatu

As Vanuatu is classified as extremely vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change, adaptation measures are given high priority by the government, development organisations, and NGOs. Projects which combine food security and adaptation to climate change introduce new cultivation methods and techniques. They are intended to prepare people for adverse effects of climate change such as extreme weather events. Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015 was declared as such an extreme weather event linked to climate change. This chapter investigates livelihood practices of people in two villages in Vanuatu (Siviri and Dixon Reef) during and after Pam and after inhabitants participated in an adaptation and food security project. People in these villages employ a wide range of livelihood practices in order to secure their living and try continuously to extend their possibilities. We argue that diversification, which is a fundamental principle found in Oceania in the context of cultivation, is additionally transferred in Vanuatu to other possibilities than to secure the cultivation of food crops, namely to obtain monetary income. Because this wider context is central for the people, as well as for research, we chose a perspective that focuses on practices of the people in Siviri and Dixon Reef.